The short answer is no. Most reporting on Italian successes were downplayed by Allied and German journalists or dismissed, so by extension so would global statesmen and diplomats. Many times the Italians were outright dismissed in their achievements, and if something went wrong, they were often blamed first. Rommel oftentimes would put them in unwinnable situations, or pull back German forces to rest while the Italians were still in the midst of heavy fighting. They weren't completely dismissed outright thought, especially by leaders like Churchill who saw their initial involvement as a "stab in the back." But even Hitler viewed Italy as the "soft underbelly," and that any failure of his campaign, would begin in Italy. He even successfully predicted their eventual defection, signaled by the Germans increased fortification of Italy long prior to their switching sides.